Among The Crows
by Lord Sunder
Summary: 'He knows legilimency,' my brain helpfully supplied, and my frown deepened as I scribbled out notes on mitosis. A serial killer who keeps trying to rape my mind, I amended.' What if Renee had been a veela immigrant? Eventual Bella/Alice. Warning, may contain rational!veela!Bella, Mormon!Edward and awesome!Charlie. Rated Mature for adorable lesbians.
1. Chapter One: What I've Left Behind

Author's Note: Well, this is my first attempt at writing first person. It's planned to be Bellice, in a HP/Twilight AU where Renee was a veela immigrant, and Bella attended the Salem Witches' Institute. Hopefully, Bella is actually likeable in this adaptation. Contains a few OCs in minor roles, such as teachers, but mostly canon characters.

Chapter One: What I've Left Behind

Flames roared green as I withdrew my hand from the pitcher. My second pinch of floo powder, since I'd already wasted the first trying to work up the courage to leave. Leaving Salem was always the hardest part, and now I was leaving it for good. I'd just graduated, you see, and in the meantime my mother had found her mate. Which meant that if I went to live with her, I would be living by myself, with the pair of them leaving their bedroom only for (shared) bathroom breaks. I was happy for her, but if I had a choice between dealing with that and taking a holiday to visit my dad... it wasn't really much of a choice. Still, I couldn't help being apprehensive about staying there.

It wasn't really Charlie's —I mean, my dad's— fault, but more a matter of geography. Small towns aren't good for veela. Not enough places to get away from admirers, and everybody knows Billy-Bob wants you in the sack, especially when you have a strong aura like mine. I'm actually quite plain, but because my mother was a demonic bird-entity, I tend to involuntarily rape peoples' brains until they think I'm pretty. It's really quite easy to learn to loathe yourself, if you have a conscience.

I turned away from the fire, catching the eye of my best friend, Emma, who shot me a worried look, fiddling with her long blonde braid. Probably wondering what's taking me so long.

"Bella, if it's too hard, you know my dad would let you stay a couple of weeks," she said, gently taking my hand. Really, this girl was a godsend. Met her in my second year and never really looked back. 'Sickeningly inseparable', I believe my transfiguration teacher had called us. I sighed.

"No, I can't do that to him… mom told me how much he misses me since last year's visit. It wouldn't be fair to him, but… urgh."

I twitched as I felt Emma's cool hands encircle my waist, before relaxing against her shoulder. "But what?" she pressed.

"It's… it's nothing," I hastily sandbagged, pushing my true feelings on the matter away into the darkest recesses of my mind. "I'll floo you tomorrow, okay? I think my dad's place is still connected…"

She gave me a watery smile as the clocktower of Salem Witches' Institute began to toll, and I gave her a comforting squeeze in return, before letting her go. The fire having burned through the floo I'd supplied, I reached for the pitcher again. I felt bad for wasting school resources like that, but third time's the charm, right? A roar of expanding air, and the floo portal opened once more. Fire harmlessly licked my worn black shoes as I said the words, thinking of Charlie's house.

"Charlie Swan's residence, number three, Cedar Avenue."

* * *

><p>I saw stars, my head swirling dizzyingly as the pain finally registered. My head hurt like hell, and I could already feel it swelling. Did the floo vortex smack me on purpose, or was there something in the way? The fire at my feet petered out, but I caught a glimpse of cramped brickwork and wooden boards. Oh, so that was the problem then. I heard footsteps nearby, and hastily pulled out my vinewood wand, whispering '<em>Avifors'<em> and pointing it at the barrier. Light cascaded in as the boards, now crows, took flight and my father let out an explosive curse.

"Bells? That you?" he said, as I stared at his drawn gun, not sure what to say. He was blushing, his pistol shaking in his grip. Oh god, why am I so messed up? I clamped down hard on my natural allure, biting my tongue so that the pain overrode my natural inclination to invoke lust.

"U-um… hi, Dad," I said quietly, giving him a weak little wave. Immediately, the safety was on, and he was moving closer to push the electric fire out of the way. I blinked, my head throbbing, as I realised that I was covered with soot from the old fireplace, muttering a hasty cleaning charm as I clambered out.

"Thought you'd give me a call when your flight was in… damn, Bella—" he cut off as one of the crows let out a harsh clicking sound, pecking insistently at the window. A smile made its way to my face as I reached out, allowing it to hop on. Birds tend to love us… I think it might be a flock thing, one overgrown bird recognising another.

"I'm sorry… I didn't want you to have to ferry me around, dad. I mean, what were the odds of you getting an electric fireplace? I should've been more careful," I said, rubbing my bump. Awkward silence followed, until he finally clasped my shoulder, his eyes crinkling at the edges. I felt a sharp ache as it finally broke through just how much this man had missed me. Damn it, dad… why didn't you say anything?

"Good to have you back, Bells."

* * *

><p>I impulsively drew closer, the remaining crows scattering, laughingly throwing my arms around his waist. He stiffened, but hesitantly hugged me back. And somehow, I knew that living in Forks with him might not be so bad after all.<p>

Forget what I said. Have I ever mentioned how much it sucks to be under the age of majority in the muggle world? Well, it does. I'm somehow trusted to teleport across the state without leaving half my spleen behind, but the moment I even think about touching vodka, everybody loses their mind. That, and I'm apparently meant to go to a muggle school for the duration. I don't even know how that's meant to work, because it just seemed to be a disaster in the making. There was a reason I'd gone to an all girls school, and even then I wasn't entirely safe from unwanted advances.

I had no idea what to expect, as I unpacked my shrunken storage trunk in the cramped spare bedroom. I liked that it was small, though. It was cozy, and if I had to change, the window was wide enough that I think I could probably fit through. Luckily, I didn't really change into a weird bird demon at the drop of a hat anymore, though fifth year was crazy for that. One wrong word to me and 'poof', flames and feathers everywhere. Oh-three was an expensive year for clothes shopping.

I'd have to buy some books, I realised then. Lots of books. While I'd grown up with muggles, I'd jumped ship at the end of elementary school, which meant a lot of missed classes. I'd tried to keep up with summer classes for a while, but after my aura developed, that plan went horribly downhill. So I'd probably come across as terminally retarded, if I even passed an entry exam. Still, I maybe had time to make up some lost ground over the summer. My eyes flicked to the empty shelves on the far side of the bed, grinning to myself. Yes, those will do nicely.

A crack of thunder, and the rain hammering on the window got incrementally louder. Yup, looks like outside activities are on a permanent hiatus. It might come as a surprise, but there's nothing sadder looking than a soggy veela. As creatures of fire, it actually suppresses our powers something fierce, not to mention it's extremely unpleasant. I mean, you can kind of work around it, but it's harder than working without the water, if you catch my drift. I suppose I had an easier time of it than a pureblood veela, with wand magic to fall back on, to my mother's eternal envy, but back in Phoenix it barely ever rained like this. At least there's no risk of sunburn, I guess. Emma and I had a mutual envy thing going on with that. Where she managed a gorgeous golden tan just by walking around, my skin oscillated violently between milkbottle and lobster, depending on the weather. Apparently I managed to make it work, but that's probably the aura clogging up peoples' brains.

"Dinner, Bells?" My dad called up, interrupting my zen consideration of shelving units, and I felt my face flush. It's not like anyone could see me, but I'm a little weird like that, and it felt like I'd been caught dancing in the nude or something.

"I'll be down in a sec!" I called, thanking the student gods as I murmured 'pack', the half-assed packing charm haphazardly causing clothes to fly into my closet. I wasn't particularly concerned for now. The real anxiety would come later, when I'd have to dress up for muggles who weren't in the know.

Dinner was, unfortunately, a dreary affair of pizza and oven fries. Now, don't get me wrong, I like pizza as much as the next girl, but shouldn't a guy of my dad's age be able to cook at least a little? I sighed, knowing that my french grandparents would be spinning furiously in their graves for the death of cuisine, but quickly devoured the offered food. It really wasn't bad, and I thanked my dad between bites. Dad was awkwardly quiet for most of the meal, watching the television out of the corner of his eye, and I felt yet another pang of sympathy for my father. Back when I first met Emma, I'd been alone for so long that I barely knew how to talk to people anymore. I still didn't, to tell the truth, so might have panicked just a little when he tried to talk shop with me.

"Hey, dad, would it be okay if we picked up some textbooks in Port Angeles this week? I, uhm… I sort of have a lot to catch up on this summer," I said quietly, as I dried the dishes.

He raised an eyebrow at that, giving me an appraising look. "What'd they teach you at that school of yours? The bird thing?"

I waggled my fingers menacingly. Fear my powers of ornithomancy, fool! "Yeah, the bird thing and plenty more. I'm licensed to apparate and everything, but they weren't too hot on math, and I don't think I'm allowed to mention the goblins in American history class."

He gave me a minute frown, still obviously paying attention to the game to some degree. "Guess it's complicated, huh... apparting is that thing where you teleport, right? Ren— your mother told me, once," he said haltingly. My eyes flicked to the pictures on the mantle, to the pictures of Renee that still lingered, and I hurriedly turned back to the dishes.

"Yeah. It's apparating though. Do I really have to do this? Can't you just say I'm being homeschooled here?" I pressed. He turned to me, muting the football for a moment, and I knew then that he was truly serious.

"Look Bells, I don't know what weirdness people put up with in Phoenix, and I don't rightly care. You're my daughter, and it'd be suspicious as all hell if I'm in work and you're being 'schooled' at home," he huffed quietly, his eyes softening. "I'll help you catch up though, if I can, and maybe a few of the kids around here'd be willing to lend a hand."

He was right, damn him. And it would be an excellent opportunity to learn something new, even if it meant putting up with the constant harassment from boys. That makes me sound horrible, since it's not really their fault, but it didn't make their reactions any easier to deal with. Are girls' clubs even a thing? Maybe I could suggest something, once the problem was obvious…

"No boys, please…" I murmured, as I finished up the washing. I heard a quiet 'oh', and turned just in time to catch my dad's eyes skitter back to the television. My aura, the natural field that surrounds an adult veela, was raging around me, and I dug my nails into the palm of my hand, splashing a little water from the sink over my face. I'd rather eat linoleum than be wet, and my nose closed up like I had a bad cold almost immediately, but I'd put up with it for his sake.

"That's fine, Bells," he replied. More than fine, I bet, given the way you used to glare at Jake. "Just… try to keep it down in the house," he continued quietly, and I nodded, giving a pained smile. Some days it feels like I'll burst if I don't let it out, so maybe I could just sneak off at night or something, and play in the woods. Remembering the large window in my room, an evil plan was hatched. Yes, that would do nicely.

"Wait, so you're going to muggle school now?" Emma babbled excitedly, sitting crosslegged on her family's carpet, while I played a rousing game of 'got your head' with America's floo network. At least dad was nice enough to give me a cushion for my knees.

"Yup. I have no idea if I'm going to even pass the entry exam, though. I haven't studied muggle school topics full-time since… what… sixth grade?"

Emma smiled, her green eyes glimmering prettily. "I'm happy for you. There must be so much more to learn... find out how magnets work for me, would you?" I laughed, blowing a raspberry at her.

Emma was pureblood, which meant that she'd learnt most of her muggle lingo from half-remembered bits of information I occasionally came out with, since her parents were too busy with her mother's Ministry of Whispers job for the most part. The magnet thing was an old joke of ours, after I'd tried in earnest to explain them in… third year? Needless to say, my fumbling and incomplete explanation of electromagnetism was met with open mockery.

"Sure thing, Em. You get into the frost league this year?"

She nodded brightly, "I'll be off to Canada in september. They said I aced the tryouts!"

I let out an embarrassingly high squeal of excitement, and tumbled through the floo gate to hug her silly, falling back on the carpet with me on top, and we playfully wrestled for a moment. It probably would have looked risque to someone who didn't really know us, but believe me, I had no plans to make moves on my best friend. We were just very… cuddly, for lack of a better word. I think it's because Renee was never a physical person, so I went elsewhere to settle my cuddle deficit. I won, of course, and soon she was red in the face as I mercilessly tickled her ribs.

"Ha, ha… Bella, stoooooop," she whined, batting my hands away, and finally I rolled off to the side. "It's awesome though, right?" she said after a moment, giving my hand a squeeze. I let out a soft sigh, watching her parents' chandelier swing gently above us.

"Yeah, it's gonna be great."

* * *

><p>Forks is a weird little town. Rich, I know, coming from the bird-demon witch, but hear me out. I don't quite know what it is about the place, but it has this sort of 'pull' that I can feel when I'm outside. It's like some weird, disused, saurian part of my brain is trying to say that this is an ideal site to hatch my eggs, if that even makes any sense. And the people are strange, too. Not exactly Innsmouth strange, but there's a certain look that seems to be going around all the same. Take the lady I met in the grocery store the second night I was back...<p>

I breezed in at around eight PM, intent on grabbing some fresh, unsalted vegetables for the pantry, and at first everything was fine. Quiet as the grave, and the lights had a nasty habit of flickering whenever I was near, but that can't really be helped. Wand magicians can put down their wand, but I can't exactly tear out the greek fire grafted to my soul, so it's just another weird little thing about the veela lifestyle. Wearing rubber gloves to answer a mobile phone gets old very fast, but while I had apparently reached a state of enlightenment from contemplating the potatoes, a woman caught my eye.

I don't even know why it happened, but she was definitely one of the most beautiful women I'd ever seen, and that included my mother's flock. If not for the lack of aura, I'd say she was some sort of siren herself. Inhumanly smooth skin, gorgeous wavy brown hair, and bright yellow eyes that just screamed 'magical creature blood'. She must've noticed me staring, because she walked over, a motherly smile crossing her face. I froze up, and momentarily contemplated leaping behind the potato bags.

"I don't believe I've seen you around these parts before. Might you be Charlie Swan's daughter?" She said, tucking a lock of hair behind one ear. I swallowed, watching the motion awkwardly.

"B-Bella, yes. I mean, my name's Isabella Swan, ma'am," I blurted, holding out my hand. I figure my face must have been red as a tomato. I really, really needed to get out more, and talk to people who weren't family.

"Esme Cullen," she returned, taking my hand gracefully. My nerves jangled, her skin clammy and cold against mine. I caught a vague hint of a minty sort of smell under her perfume, and combined with the other features, I was almost certain this woman was some sort of magical half-blood. "Carlisle, my husband, said that your father seemed over the moon, and I suspect that now I know why. Welcome to Forks," Esme murmured, smiling warmly. I realised I was still holding her hand, and hurriedly let go.

"Sorry," I muttered.

"It's quite all right, dear," she said. Again, my nerves jangled at that faint minty smell. Still, my nose is barely up to human standards. Birds aren't really known for their sense of smell, you see, though my eyesight is scarily good. I blinked, realising she was looking at me expectantly.

"How are you enjoying your stay so far?" She repeated patiently, apparently aware that I'd been off in the clouds.

"It's been great, apart from the weather…" Don't talk about the weather, Bella, I chastised myself. "I-I mean, my dad's been really good about things, and it was at quite short notice, so I'm just trying to settle in for some studying, I think."

Her eyes widened, "So early in the year?"

I shrugged noncommittally, "I was homeschooled, so I have a lot to catch up on. Don't want to end up back in third grade, or something." A little white lie to explain my absence from the public school system. Renee even held a fake permit to teach me, issued by the Ministry of Whispers, to help with that excuse.

Mrs Cullen tittered at my lame little joke, leaning against the vegetable counter. "Well, if you need any help, my youngest had the same problem last year."

I smiled, my mind still ticking over the available information, "Thanks, Mrs Cullen. I'll keep that in mind." Well, at least the woman didn't seem to think I was too weird, though her nose was flaring, like she was trying really hard not to sneeze. Muscles clenched and held still for unnaturally long periods of time. European werewolf, maybe? I would have bet anything that her sense of smell was way better than mine.

"Call me Esme, dear. I'm afraid that I really must be going, though. I have five teenagers to feed, and I swear Emmet is becoming more of a black hole every year," she said, golden eyes shining, but seeming to have darkened to a caramel brown. I blinked. Weird, I didn't think peoples' eyes actually did that. Mark up another one for the werewolf hypothesis, I suppose. I let out a weak laugh at that, scratching the back of my neck awkwardly.

"Um… of course. It was nice to meet you, Esme."

She nodded, walking off to get her purchases scanned. I was dimly aware that the clerk behind the register had been staring between me and Esme for quite some time, but I had gotten used to that. I bit my lip, keeping the pain in the forefront of my mind as I pulled my unruly aura back into myself. It was hard to suppress, and I'd gotten used to just letting it all hang out back at Salem. It didn't usually affect women unless they'd already have a reason to be attracted to me, if you catch my drift. Mechanically, I finished packing the vegetables, and went to pay.

His name tag read 'Matt', and he looked fit to burst, his face was so red. I looked down; my ratty windbreaker and faded jeans weren't exactly runway model fare, but then most girls don't come magically airbrushed. I managed to acquire my purchases with the minimal amount of sexual harassment —none is the best amount— and hurried back out into the pouring rain, pulling my hood up against the wind. Dad's cruiser was nearby, and I climbed in, towelling down my face as soon as I was strapped in. Still, I couldn't exactly leave the thought alone. What other magical beings could Forks be hiding?

* * *

><p>The summer passed much quicker than I could have expected, a blur of textbooks and endless mock tests. Call me a bookworm, but I actually loved it. It was an excuse not to have to deal with people, though Dad made pleasant enough company. That, and he'd invited a girl called Angela to help me study, which was nice. She was very quiet, and much like my dad, she didn't push me in the same way that Mom did, and it was good not to be constantly hounded. Not when I did that just fine myself. Transforming was actually the highlight of my day, often.<p>

I'd been out for a wing around when the nights were clear, always careful to stick to the woods where my ungainly bird form could hide among the trees. Humanoid bodies weren't really made for flight, and the crows found me quite an amusing sight. I like crows. They look after their own, and somehow that includes me. I'd heard all the places where a crow had been killed back to the eighteen hundreds, I think, because crows are sort of crazy like that.

So it came as a relief when my results for the qualification tests came back, and I could finally stop stressing myself into nightly visits to the forest. Apparently, despite my lack of a standard muggle education, I had scraped eleventh grade material, and they would be happy to have me in the coming semester. A bit behind the curve, but better than nothing, right? Of course, I'd immediately flooed Emma to let her know, and Charlie had taken the pair of us out to eat. Quite the gentleman, my dad, in his fumbling, gruff sort of way. In the meantime, I'd read over my old school books on dark creatures, though several possibilities still presented themselves.

European werewolf was a strong candidate, as Esme had mentioned having children, and they were common as anything. I blame Europe's terrible treatment of natural werewolf packs. But the North American vampire was also quite close, given the coldness of her skin. At the same time, though, I couldn't rule out a stranger hybrid, because vampires were meant to have eyes the color of blood. Lineages can get rather complicated, especially when you factor in more than one magical creature. With that done, I had shelved the issue, taking life as it came. Blind speculation was pointless. What really mattered was the evidence, and I suspected that once I was in school, I'd be free to observe.

So, as it happened, I found myself getting ready for my first day, when there was a knock on the door in the middle of the afternoon. I still had a few days worth of leeway, but it never hurt to be prepared, right? My magical books were stashed well out of sight from Angela's visits, though the broomstick in my closet had been a little tricky to explain. I rolled my eyes. Billy Black was back to steal my dad away for another of his fishing trips. It wouldn't be fair to complain, though, since there were still slabs of fish in the freezer from the last trip.

"Bells!" Charlie called up to me, and I momentarily looked around for another Bella, because it wasn't like Billy had said two words to me since we'd met. I think he found my aura embarrassing, since my control still wasn't exactly perfect, and he must be nearing sixty. There was another voice down there, though, so consider my interest piqued.

"Coming, Dad!" I shouted back, slipping a bookmark into my math textbook and padding down the stairs. My eyes widened, and I froze in the front door. "Jake?"

The musclebound stranger nodded dumbly, running a hand through his shaggy brown hair. That was all the prompting I needed to give him a hug to end all hugs, because while I didn't really recognise him at first, he was still the first friend I'd ever made. He made that cute little 'choking on my own spit' noise that I sometimes hear from guys, and gingerly patted my back.

"Guess I don't have to ask if you remember me?" He said finally, as I let him go. My dad exchanged glances with Billy in the corner of my vision, but I just shook my head, finally registering the unfamiliar vehicle in the drive. It was a giant, ancient looking pickup truck, in a rather appealing shade of red.

"You used to like mud pies, and I pushed you in the creek when you tried to feed me one," I murmured, nudging him in the ribs. Holy crap, it was like poking a brick wall! He chuckled helplessly, covering his mouth.

"Hah, yeah… back when I knew how to take a pretty girl out," he said wryly, and I rolled my eyes. I'd heard worse. I turned back to my dad, who was currently dodging Billy's playful attempts to ram him in the ankles. Do boys ever grow up? I had my doubts.

"Dad, what'd you need?" I called, breaking up their tussling. He swaggered up to the truck, slapping a hand against the side.

"You got here earlier than I'd expected, so this wasn't ready. Your homecoming present," he said gruffly, waving his hand over the truck. I'm not really sure what I was thinking at the time, but I drew in a shaky breath, my chest filling with that kind of indescribable warmth you only get by knowing someone loves you.

"I love it! Thanks, dad. Really, it's the best!" I gushed, but my joy was tempered by an undercurrent of unease. I'd never learnt to drive anything other than a tractor, so this was a first, regardless of the similarities between the two vehicles. And it was a stick shift, by the look of it. Hopefully I wasn't to be expected to hop in and drive right now.

"Come on up, I'll show you the works," Jake called, climbing into the passenger seat. I suppose I spoke too soon.

Gingerly I climbed in, pulling a pair of worn cotton gloves from my pocket. It would be good not to accidentally fry the radio, at least. Jake watched me curiously… well, stared is more accurate, but at least he didn't comment on my weird little habits. I groaned inwardly. This was going to be a disaster. I could barely remember what order the pedals went in, and my assistant looked to be developing a serious case of puppy face.

"You drive a stick before, Bells?" he asked quietly, leaning toward me. I shook my head, adjusting the seat clumsily.

"Just a tractor. My uncle taught me, and it wasn't too hard," I murmured, biting my lip. Jake snorted, shaking his head.

"Well, this is gonna be a bit harder than that. Replaced the engine myself last week, so it might have a little teething trouble at first, but power through and it'll never break down."

I raised an eyebrow. "God himself could not sink this ship," I quoted, my voice thick with gallows humor. He slapped me on the arm and I laughed, inwardly cursing my pasty complexion. That was probably going to bruise later, and he barely even touched me.

"Don't jinx my work now," he said, grinning. Don't worry, captain, this disaster will be one hundred percent operator error. Well, at least I managed to start it okay. I made a very slow, wobbly circuit of the block before he made me pull over, frowning. Not to put my dad down or anything, because this was a great gift, but give me a broomstick any day of the week.

"We gotta get you sorted out," Jake groaned, rubbing his forehead. Can it, drama king, I wasn't that bad.

"I bet my dad can teach me. It doesn't seem so bad, once you get used to the clutch," I said. He laughed, but didn't disagree.

"Try to break ten miles per hour on the way back this time, speed queen," he taunted, and I nudged him again in irritation. Still, we made it back in one piece, and I only stalled it a couple of times. Still, it made me revise my position on being a witch among muggles a little better. A fake driver's license was a health hazard I'd never even considered.

* * *

><p>"Isabella Swan, is that correct?" the red haired lady said, peering up at me. I fidgeted, playing with the neckline of my hoodie, and nodded. Not that I ever really got cold, but I liked that hoodie a lot. It smelled like Salem, and on some level that was still home. Not anymore, I thought bitterly. Still, the school seemed nice, from what I'd seen, in that bleached, mundane, muggle sort of way. Peaceful, in a way that a college of magic just couldn't afford to be. The lady, one 'Shelly' according to her name tag, gave me a bright smile, handing me my schedule and a small map of the school before turning back to her novel. Checking the package, there was also a weird little slip that I was apparently meant to get my teachers to sign.<p>

"If you get lost, don't worry too much, dear. It's your first day, so just try to focus on keeping calm," she said absently, and I grimaced, biting back a scathing retort. Focus, Bella, she didn't mean to imply that you're a helpless babe who can't use a map. At least my temper wasn't as bad as it used to be. She was probably just instinctually reacting to me as competition, as some women were wont to do. It sucked, but I'd learnt to deal with it.

Grumbling faintly, I crossed the parking lot toward the school proper, since apparently my first class would be English, and I was quite pleased with that. Salem had been quite lax in its teaching of the subject, and so long as our essays were legible, we'd get good marks. It was enough to get by, and to be a parasite in muggle society, but not much more than that. In short, it sucked, and I knew I could do better than that. Reining in my aura as much as I could, I made my way as swiftly and efficiently as possible toward the classroom, keeping my head down as I went. Curious stares followed me, because I'd never exactly managed to nail 'inconspicuous', even without the magical 'screw me' spotlight.

Needless to say, my first class passed mostly without incident. I sat next to Angela, who seemed overjoyed to have someone to share the class with, but whenever my eyes flicked up from the reading task, I noticed the stares. My lips were starting to feel rather tender from how hard I was holding in the allure, but at least it seemed to be working. The looks were the sharp, predatory sort of curiosity, rather than the dopy, vacant stare of the enthralled. Still, my other neighbor, a greasy looking boy with dark hair, was a different problem entirely.

It was an equally dopy look of pure longing I'd known to recognise on sight, and I rolled my eyes from behind my copy of Canterbury Tales, edging my desk a little closer to Angela. It wasn't his fault, but I hated it. Hated what I did to people, if they stuck around me too long. As a teenage boy, he was unrealistic expectations and hormones bundled up in one horribly inconvenient package. Speaking of which, can I say that better than average eyesight can scar you for life? Because nobody was going to be camping in that tent. I stifled a sigh of disgust, looking imploringly at Angela. Her eyes flicked over to the boy, a frown crossing her face, and shook her head faintly. After what felt like an age, the bell rang, and I left quickly, stopping outside the door to wait for my friend to finish packing.

"Hey there, you're Isabella Swan, right?" a voice piped up. I looked up from the floor, meeting the brown eyes of my would-be admirer. He looked chipper enough, and I already felt bad for him. Sorry, bub, you're not my type.

"Bella," I grunted, making a show of examining the fire alarm beside the door.

"My name's Eric," he said, and I awkwardly shook his hand. _Scourgify_… _scourgify_, please. My half-hearted attempt at wandless, motionless casting was unsuccessful, to my chagrin. "C-can I walk you to your next class?" he blurted, his throat bobbing as he swallowed. I tried to smile, but I suspect it came out as more of a grimace.

"I'm actually waiting for my friend Angela," I started, looking over his shoulder, where Angela was waiting patiently by the lockers. "And that's her right now. Bye, Eric," I said, walking briskly toward my friend. I heard him stutter something about building four as I left, but I wasn't really paying attention.

My stomach was roiling on the way to government. I felt horrible for treating someone so poorly, but I knew it would be for his own good in the long run. Weak willed guys like that don't stand up to the aura very well in the long term, and it tends to wear them down after a few years. I'd seen them before, when my mother's flock held a moot, and it wasn't pretty. Mindless drones was putting it lightly. I'd kill myself before putting anyone through that.

"Are you okay?" Angela whispered softly, and I relaxed, releasing my death grip on the handles of my rucksack.

"I'm… he likes me. I don't want to have to deal with that, so I was really rude back there, and I hope he'll back off," I muttered, scuffing my shoes against the gravel as we crossed over to building four.

"Well, you are pretty likeable," Angela chirped, smiling serenely. I growled teasingly, and she waved her hands in mocking surrender. "Okay, okay… look, it's fine. Sometimes, you just have to let them down, if you're not interested. Um… or so I hear."

I sighed. She was right, of course. "Yeah. But it never gets easier."

As it turned out, dealing with Eric should have been the least of my worries.

* * *

><p>Author's Note: Okay, I wanted to cut it here because otherwise things would be too long. Is it any good? If you even got this far, please, send me criticism if you can, because I'm trying to learn how to write first person. Serious discomfort zone here, people. I don't mind what you say, so long as it's at least marginally constructive. Don't worry about being seen as a hater, because I see enough sycophantic behaviour on this site to know that I prefer ballsy, thoughtful crit to mindless praise. I'm actually much more likely to get on your case if you were to spam reviews of every chapter with 'so good, write more' copypasted over and over or something similar. Because that shit is hollow and creepy, no offence. Anyway, rant over. If you think of anything I can do better, let me know, and don't worry about offending me.<p> 


	2. Chapter Two: Inconspicuous

Chapter Two: Inconspicuous

I lost Angela eventually, when we split for trigonometry class, and I missed her already. Apparently, the best way to introduce a veela who is struggling with control is to haul them up in front of the class for introductions, therefore highlighting just what everyone is missing out on. I actually broke off partway through my stiff, uncertain introduction because I'd bitten my cheek hard enough to draw blood. It's harder, knowing there are a lot of eyes on you, because your instincts scream at you to draw attention to yourself. But I managed, somehow, and life went on.

A girl called Jessica latched onto me, and nearly talked my ear off before the class was through, though steering the conversation toward herself gave me brief respite. It may come as a surprise, but I actually don't like talking to people very much, and I think this girl was reminding me a little too much of the girls who bullied me in my early years at Salem. Still, I somehow found myself sharing a cafeteria table with her and her friends, which is when it suddenly occurred to me that Angela knew all of these people. I hadn't even considered it before, but when she quietly greeted Jessica, it seemed obvious.

That was when my head twinged, and I clamped down on my thoughts, pressing back against the weak mental intrusion. My smile slipped, and my fists clenched as I took a quick look around the room. Legilimency was illegal in almost every state, bar Utah, though it was really hard to prove that someone had attacked you.

"Bella?" Jessica called, waving her hand in front of my face insistently.

"Sorry, I have a headache. Just give me a moment?" I said, massaging my temples as I put my bag down by the table. Surreptitiously, I scanned the cafeteria, until my eyes picked out a likely suspect. There, with the yellow eyes, and his gravity-defying red hair. He was pretty, but he was also staring like he wanted to look into my soul, and immediately I felt something like a beaked jackhammer pressing against my temples. Wow, this table sure has a nice texture. It's all white and bumpy. I could just stare at it for hours, so long as someone is trying to get inside my head. The sensation receded after a long moment, and I cautiously raised my head, the conversation at the table rushing back to me as I stopped focusing on the occlumency technique. A cute, baby-faced blond boy was on the table, flexing his arms for all to see, and I belatedly realised that slivers of my pent-up aura were breaking free.

"Oh my god, Mike, what the hell are you doing?" Jessica shouted, pulling on his shirt, and he nearly overbalanced into my soup bowl. I crept my hand into my bag, 'accidentally' spilling my water down my front as I dug my nails into my palm, focusing on pulling the unruly magic back into my grasp. It relented, eventually, still attempting to slip my control like sand through a clenched fist. A gaggle of boys on the table opposite twitched, as if waking from a dream. Really inconspicuous, Bella, I chastised myself. The blond boy, who I'm pretty certain was called Mike, climbed down from the table, his face beet red.

"I dunno, Jess. I just… really wanted to show off. Thought it would be funny," he said dazedly. Slowly, the buzz of conversation around us returned to a dull roar. I shuddered, sniffling. That's right, feel sorry for yourself. You should be apologising to him on bended knee, for violating him like that. A warm hand on my arm pulled me back into the present.

"Are you going to be okay, Bella? I can take you to the nurse…" Angela said softly, and I shook my head. I didn't deserve friends like her.

"N-no, it's fine. I-I sometimes get migraines," I said. Well, whined is more accurate. "Who is that? He keeps staring at us." I motioned quickly to the strange, pale legilimens. He and his friends looked to be isolated from the rest of us by a margin of abandoned tables, so maybe they were outcasts or something.

"That's Edward Cullen," Jessica cut in, giving me a searching look. 'Back off my territory', was what I heard. "He's dreamy, of course, but don't bother. I think he might be gay," she said, snorting disdainfully. 'I am his ex/He turned me down', I translated. Really, Jess was being far too unsubtle about that. I revised my estimate on her. Some of the girls at Salem would have torn her apart.

"And his friends?" I pressed, halfheartedly dabbing my front with a napkin.

"Oh, that's his family. One big, weird, gorgeous family. There's Rosalie and Jasper Hale, and Emmett and Edward Cullen. Alice is the little one, with the dark hair. They live together, you know," she said, voice thick with condemnation, as if that explained everything.

"They're adopted, Jess. It doesn't matter," Angela objected quietly, earning a disapproving glance from the other girl.

It clicked. Cullen. Esme Cullen, the lady with the yellow eyes. Risking another quick glance, I began to see the family resemblance. All of the kids were pale, though I could only see the faces of three of them. A big guy, more of a man than a boy, with muscles for days and the same golden eyes, but I was blown away by the woman next to him. She was a veritable goddess, curvy and classically beautiful with flowing golden hair. She practically oozed sensuality, in an icy sort of way, and I immediately forced to quash bittersweet memories. That must be Rosalie Hale, I guessed. She looked a lot like a girl I knew, once upon a time.

I was in the middle of considering this particular possibility when the short, black haired Cullen turned, meeting my eyes. My breath hitched, my gaze roving over that her delicate, pale body as I tried to drink in as much of her as possible. She _destroyed_ me with that look, fear flashing through those beautiful eyes. Desperate plans wheeled through my mind, of throwing myself at her feet, of seducing her shamelessly in the locker room, of simply holding her and never letting go. My instincts screamed as I finally managed to tear my eyes away, my body flushing hot as I burned her face into my mind. I let out a shaky breath, keeping a white-knuckled grip on the edge of the table.

"Bella, you're really weird," Jessica said without much malice, finishing her bowl of unidentified cafeteria slop and beginning to pack her things.

"Yeah, I guess I am," I said, my voice husky as I allowed my arms to go limp. Was that what my mom had felt when she first met Phil? I really wasn't sure, but whatever that had been, I was shaking like a leaf. _Alice_… I tasted the name, and my heart soared. This was bad. Really, really bad. "I-I'm really not used to this. Too many people..." I muttered, earning a sympathetic look from Angela, and a smattering of confusion from Jess's friends. My stomach clenched at the lie, but I doubted 'I think I just found my soulmate, maybe' would be an acceptable response. "Mind if I go outside for a minute?" I really, really needed some air.

"Sure, we'll be right here, okay?" Angela said, shooting a sideways glance to Jessica, who sighed and nodded. I stumbled out into the cold air, placing a hand on the wall of the building to steady myself. The next class was coming up, and I knew the bell would ring any minute now, but for the moment I was just focusing on my breathing. In… and out. My thighs were uncomfortably wet, and I rubbed my legs together as heat pooled. My body felt like it was on fire, and I couldn't help but picture her face. It was the only thing I had to go on. Again, despite the dampness of my hoodie, my aura was dangerously close to breaking through, if only to impress the dark haired angel I'd just seen. _Really_ bad, I thought with a groan. I sank down, sitting on the asphalt without really much thought to the matter.

Renee's decision to uproot herself completely to follow Phil made a sickening amount of sense now. It was a weird, overriding devotion, as if I'd known this woman my whole life, yet I wasn't oblivious to the implications. I mean, it wasn't as if I'd ever wanted a guy to touch me, right? I was stumped. All those years at an all-girls school, and I'd just sort of assumed that I was just… _asexual _or something. Sure, people liked me plenty, but the last time I'd wanted to touch someone had been my sixth year, and I wasn't eager to return to that.

See, once upon a time, I met a girl who blew me away. Her name was Jeanie, and while I had no idea what I wanted at the time, she made me want her. It was easy, she said, like winning my heart was some sort of messed up little game of hers. She… looked a lot like Rosalie, I guess. Tall, blonde, absolutely stunning and with hips you wouldn't believe. To cut a painful little story short, I wanted to be more serious than her, and we parted ways. Dear God, I had been absolutely pathetic, chasing after a girl who'd only wanted someone to screw for a night. There was no way in hell I had been ready for a relationship then, and I doubted I was ready now. I hung my head as my brain insisted on playing the entire series of events in sickening detail.

I sighed, digging my fingers into the asphalt, my hands glowing faintly with suppressed heat. She had been nothing like Alice. I was a creep, ogling a girl I didn't even know like she was a piece of meat. Thinking about… all the kinds of things guys want to do to me when I'm around. I'd seen it in her eyes, how terrified she'd been of me. So why was I just so stupidly happy that she'd looked my way?

The bell rang, and I pushed myself to my feet, idly watching a few of the larger boys kicking a soccer ball around. No, I'd never really wanted to touch them, either. Muscles are hard, and uncomfortable to hug. I knew that much. They're not all soft and perky like… I cut the thought off at the head, pressing a cold hand to my flaming cheeks. That… was a very _gay_ thing to think, wasn't it? I'd expected these sorts of feelings to blow over after Jeanie, but… well, apparently not. Just a phase, my mother had said, and I hadn't even questioned it. That wasn't a rational viewpoint, and I couldn't defend it any more.

The hypothesis wasn't a hard one to test, I thought, as I watched the guy who seemed to be leading their little group. He was well-built, handsome even, and I guess that thing between his legs might even feel quite nice in certain places, but I just didn't feel anything. I didn't want anything from him. I hadn't felt like this about _anyone_ else before now, save Jeanie, so I wasn't really sure what to think. Alice-sexual wasn't a thing, was it?

I clenched my fists. What right did my body have to just _decide_ like that, without my consent? It could have been anybody, and all of a sudden I'm acting like a dog in heat. I wanted to punch something. To keep punching until my arms gave out, then set something on fire. Feathers rippled across my arms, and I grimaced, biting my sore bottom lip as I fought back the change. This little development can go _hang_, because I'm not playing. I fucking _refuse_. I winced, hurriedly looking around, but thankfully that particular sentiment remained firmly in my head. Otherwise, I suspect Renee would have flown all the way from Phoenix to make a feather shawl from my hide. But… God, I just wanted to break something, to hurt something, but the only fault I could find was my own. Looking around, I dazedly came to the conclusion that the school grounds looked far too empty.

"Oh… I'm going to be late," I said to nobody in particular, before mechanically making my way back inside.

* * *

><p>I sometimes wonder on the merits of fate. If there were such a thing, the fates were probably laughing their dusty, geriatric socks off at my predicament. The first thing my biology teacher did, upon noticing that one his students was new to the school, was tell me to sit next to Edward Cullen at the front of the class. It was the only open seat in the room, but it just seemed awfully convenient as I made my way over, carelessly slinging my bag under the table.<p>

Edward stiffened at my approach, closing his eyes and holding his body ramrod straight in his seat, like he'd just been forced to stick his hands in something foul. Okay... fine, whatever, I thought. I slipped into the seat beside him and his expression darkened, fury clearly etched into his deathly pale face. It was tempting to take the first move, and tell him to shove it, but at that moment I was earnestly worried that I'd been sat next to a serial killer or something.

'He knows legilimency,' my brain helpfully supplied, and my frown deepened as I scribbled out notes on mitosis. A serial killer who keeps trying to rape my mind, I amended. I felt a tingle in my head once more, and clamped down on it, pushing away the weak legilimency probe. It was really lucky that I was a natural at protecting my mind, because otherwise I wouldn't even have known he was doing it. Don't look now, I said to myself. You know he's looking right at you.

"Do you have a problem?" I whispered as confidently as I could muster. He made a guttural noise like a cross between a grunt and a cough, and I felt him shift even further away until he was perched on the far edge of his chair. You'd think he'd been sat next to a hag, the way he was behaving.

That same minty smell met my nose, sparking fuzzy memories of several months back. I risked a glance, and felt my skin crawl. His eyes were blacker than the pits of Hades, almost making the glare he was directing my way unnecessary. I felt feathers spring up across my shoulders, under the hoodie, and tried to force my breathing to return to normal. That was all kinds of disturbing. And conspicuous. How were obliviators not involved on a weekly basis? A few more days of this, and I'd probably beg to have the experience erased.

At least the lesson topic was fascinating, since I'd never had much opportunity to learn about the workings of cells outside of summer classes. It was enthralling, and mostly new information, so I found myself devoting my thoughts mostly to making sense of the lesson. If 'Wardo' over there wanted to be bizarre, that was his perogative, I suppose. Maybe he had his own instincts to deal with, so I shouldn't be so quick to judge. But… would his sister be like this? I hoped not, because picturing her face was enough to make my knees tremble. Stupid, _stupid_ veela instincts.

The period after that was a complete joke. Really, I'm serious. I'd never had a gym class before, so this was like a bad joke. I think the closest thing we'd had at Salem had been the spring cross-country event, although that was more about wandslinging than running. You have a wand, so why _not _ride around on a transfigured sabertoothed cat? Of course, everybody else had a wand too, so it was sort of like ice hockey in a way. To cut a long story short, when the coach told me we'd be doing volleyball, I was grasping at straws. I knew about football, baseball, and I had a passing familiarity with the aforementioned hockey, but not much more. The result was… underwhelming, to say the least. I'd played pickup games of quidditch, and was even on Salem's reserve team at one point, but sports were really more Emma's thing than mine. I'd been the reserve beater, while she was the one who rocked chaser in the summer nationals.

Still, as we hit our little plush balls back and forth, I allowed myself time to consider the previous class. I wasn't sure about his siblings, but 'Wardo's behaviour was pure American vampire. They were meant to be mostly extinct by now, driven out with superior numbers of flaming wands, but there was no denying the evidence anymore. And he was hungry, which meant that someone was going to die soon. My stomach dropped as I considered Esme and the others, my mind tallying up how many would have to die each year to sustain a clan that large. All that blood… my gorge rose at the thought, and I choked a little, tasting bile. I hunched over, to the dismay of my team-mates, gagging before I got control of myself. It was lucky I didn't lose my lunch right there, really. Still, the train of thought had no breaks. So where were the police reports? The unexplained disappearances? Dad should have been working overtime, if there was a family of vampires in town. Something else was at work, but I was at a loss to explain.

The bell finally rang, and I left in a hurry, my mind whirring as I made my way back through town toward my dad's house. I couldn't tell him, at least not without tying him to a chair first. It would only make him worry, and it wasn't as if he could go out arresting magical creatures. No, the best thing to do would be to floo call the local auror office, and let them deal with the problem. I thought about it, as I trudged through the puddles on my way back, and came up with one tiny problem. Alice. If she really was a vampire, they'd drive her off, or kill her if they found her. My heart ached at the thought, my eyes stinging, and I ground a knuckle against my temple in frustration. Why? It wasn't like I knew her or anything. She was a murderer by nature, so I should hate her existence. This was just some… ancient mating instinct trying to twist my thoughts. But, as humiliating as the thought was, I knew that if she left I would follow. Damn me.

"Jeez, Bella! Try to keep it on the hinges," Charlie remarked as I banged the door open, still half immersed in my own private pit of self-doubt.

"Will do, dad!" I replied absently as I took off my well-worn black boots. I'd have to buy a new pair soon. _Reparo_ can only do so much.

Dumping my bag by the stairs, I extracted my wand from the pile and wandered into the living room. "How was your day?" Charlie muttered gruffly from the couch, beer clutched comfortably in one hand. I smiled, but it was the strained sort of smile.

"Different. Uhm, if it's okay, I think I need to go out back and unwind a little."

His eyes widened, likely cottoning onto my meaning from the brief flutters of allure that escaped the death-grip I'd had on it since the disaster at lunch. "Do you need me to…" What, exactly?

"Just… don't follow me?"

He huffed a sigh, chugging his beer, and my heart went out to him. Sorry dad, there's not much you can do. I patted him on the arm, unspoken thanks for the kind thought.

We lived fairly close to the woods, so it wasn't hard to make a quick dash across the road and straight into the underbrush, but I didn't stop there. I didn't stop moving until I was well outside town limits, because the last thing I wanted was to run into a muggle while in bird form. Stashing my hoodie under my arm, I thought of my encounter with Edward, allowing the rage to pool at the thought of one who would violate my mind so readily. I thought of what my own body would do to me, to throw me under a bus for the sake of an attractive stranger.

Feathers burst from my skin, covering my arms in an instant as flames licked my vision. I hadn't bothered with my shoes on the way out, as my talons would have completely ruined them when I shifted. I let the flames rise, fire washing over my skin but failing to burn me as I wove the magic over and over onto itself. In an instant, I released the pent up power with a thunderous crack, trees around me splintering and topping away from me. The nearest was blasted to charred kindling, and I huffed, feeling a little proud of myself. It wasn't a reductor curse, but my veela magic was pretty strong. The Olympic Peninsula now had a new clearing, I guess.

My claws dug into the side of the flaming crater I'd produced, and I hurled myself into the air, landing on a branch as my wings slowly extended. My bra strap popped apart as the feathery appendages pushed out from my shoulders, and I stashed it in the tree with my hoodie, before taking a few experimental flaps.

With that done, I unleashed my aura, the air around me swirling fitfully at the sudden release of magic. It felt so good, like stretching after a long nap, that I nearly toppled backward off the branch, righting myself barely with an indignant squawk. One thing you would never guess without being veela is that when you're in bird form, your head weighs a tonne. It really depends which species you identify with, but my massive, wedge-shaped beak was quite literally a lethal weapon in its own right.

Since I was feeling so good, it was only a matter of time before the flock found me. A flutter of black wings signalled the first arrival, settling into the upper branches, greeting me with a guttural cawing. It was the crow equivalent of 'hey everyone, gather 'round', and I smiled. Crows don't really mess around. I can respect that. Within a few minutes, it seemed like every crow within a hundred miles had set up shop in the surrounding treetops. I was being perched on by no less than three, and the my own branch was packed, but I didn't really mind. They'd always be family, in an odd sort of way. So, I perched there for several minutes, letting their chatter wash over me. It was simple, functional language, though filled with odd dialects.

Well, time to see what they know...

I raised my head, making a harsh clicking noise in the back of my throat, meaning 'blood eaters - threat to flock?', and there was a rustling of wings. It wasn't exact, because crow dialects can actually get really weird the further down you go, but I had genetics on my side. They usually knew what I meant, even if it wasn't exactly what I'd said.

"Indeterminate," came the reply, with a scattering of 'dangerous carrion ahead' and 'no confirmed deaths' I sighed, flexing my aura. That was the best I was going to get. It's lucky that they even understood the concept. The third answer was useless, because they were referring to their own. It wasn't the crows I was worried about.

"Leaving now. Fly safe," I said after a moments' pause, dropping from the branch, landing easily with a flap of my dark wings.

With that in mind, I made my way back to the house, stopping briefly to put my bra back on as I forced myself back into my normal form. The sky looked mutinous, as if it would rain any second, and I didn't want any of that. Unfortunately, nature had other ideas. I was drenched and shivering by the time I reached my dad's house, and I felt thoroughly sick as I pushed the door open. Dimly, through the fog of nausea, I heard voices. My dad's deep twang was normal, but there was also a tinkly, chipper voice that made my ears twitch. I didn't really mind, so I just sort of stumbled inside like a zombie, making a beeline for the linen closet.

"Bella?" he called, but I ignored him, preferring to grab the nearest towel and rub it blindly against my face.

Ah, warm. I snuggled into the towel, rubbing it all over my sodden, dripping hair. Were I still living with my mom, I'd have probably ditched my clothes at the door, but I doubted my dad would appreciate that. Especially since we apparently had guests.

He said something else that I didn't quite catch, and I blearily turned in the direction of the living room, but it wasn't my dad who greeted me. To my horror, I met the golden eyes of Alice Cullen.

* * *

><p>"Hi, I'm Alice!" she chirped to me, and I sort of nodded dumbly, fiddling with the towel. It didn't seem to matter to her that I was soaked to the skin, my t-shirt clinging to my body, and just looking at her was making my body tingle uncomfortably in all the wrong places.<p>

"Bella," I said cautiously, reaching for her hand out of habit and cursing myself. Idiot, why would you let her touch you? Stupid little veela. She smiled even brighter, if that were possible, her cute button nose even doing a little wiggle. Her hand was cool, but not unpleasantly so, and I shivered at the contact, trying to keep hold of my anger.

"I was just telling your father how wonderful it was to have someone new around here. He looks so much happier now that you're back! Here, let me help you with that," she said, pointing to the towel, and I shrugged, grabbing another and handing one over. "We have _so much _to talk about," the pixie continued, quieter than before, and I almost missed it as she tilted her head cockily, captivated by the milky curve of her neck. I pressed myself back into the closet, desperately trying to form unsexy thoughts.

Oh, so that was it. The thought was rather distant, because my body was screaming that I should take her right here in the linen closet, but it made a lot of sense. Threat assessment, rather than a random home visit.

"U-uhm… do you want to go upstairs?" I said, my eyes darting toward the available exits. I'd have to get away eventually, and just being around her was already eroding my rather shaky control.

"Of course! I'd love to see anything you'd like to show me," she chirped, giving me a little breathing room. "I'm afraid I'm being stolen away, Mister Swan. Tell my family I loved them!" she called gaily, as she followed my unsteady lead. Charlie laughed, waving us off.

"I-I need to change my clothes," I said, as we reached the top of the stairs.

Alice snorted, looking away. "What if I said I liked you… _wet_?" she purred, smirking up at me. Oh god! I let out a quiet whimper, electricity shooting through me. My face was on fire, and I had to steady myself against the back wall. "I-I'm sorry. That was really… um… go get changed," she continued quickly, and I eagerly did as she asked, shutting my bedroom door in a blind rush. In case it wasn't already clear, I am a terrible host. The worst, most socially awkward host one could possibly imagine. Just… just stay angry with her, I told myself. With the situation. It didn't work, though, because I'd always tried to be honest with myself. It was never her fault.

Still, despite my mortification, I was dry and dressed in record time. I groaned, rubbing my face. I'd never had it this bad before. For anyone. I didn't know anything about her, but when she did things… holy _hell_ did I react. It was stifling, and I had no way to stop it from happening. Were I less honest, it would be easy to place the blame on her, to hate her for the wild feelings she forced into me.

"Well, come on in I guess," I said softly, pulling the door open. I was aware that my room wasn't much, but it was home, now that Salem could no longer hold that place in my heart. I'd managed to gather a fair collection of books since I'd first arrived, and moved a tiny writing desk into the side with the window, so it was cozy if nothing else. It also meant that there were exactly two places to sit. The desk, and my bed. Alice removed my choice in the matter by immediately flopping onto the bed like she owned the place. Rude. I settled for the office chair, eager to keep my distance from the possibly-blood-sucking pixie. "So… talk. It's a little conspicuous to just turn up at my house like this, so there must be a reason. Is this about Edward?" I said, trying to be firm, but her cuteness made the venture inordinately difficult.

"Phooey, and here I was hoping we could beat around the bush a little," Alice said, pouting adorably. "It's… sorta? He feels really bad for the way he acted today, you know..."

"Well, where is he then? He's a big boy, Alice, it's not like he can't come here and apologise for himself," I said snidely. It was difficult to be angry with her, but her brother was a different matter. He didn't have this weird mating… _thing_ to shield him, and that meant I could use it to keep my distance. I'd have to remember that in the future. Alice, on the other hand, shifted uncomfortably, suddenly very interested in my closet.

"Well… he sort of… can't," she said lamely, refusing to meet my eyes. Maybe I would have better luck if I just told her I knew? At least that way, we could be open about the problem. There was a quiet gasp and Alice stared at me, and I thought she looked faintly ill now. Did she just read my mind? I frowned. I'd have felt a mental intrusion, like the sort 'Wardo apparently favours.

"And why is that?"

"Because you smell too good for him!" Alice finally burst out, clapping her hands over her mouth. It hit me like a thunderbolt, little things suddenly making sense. The looks of disgust, the sudden blackening of his eyes… I could empathise with that horrible longing, with Alice laying on my bed in front of me, looking for all the world like she wanted to be ravished. I tried not to think about that. Sex had never led me anywhere good.

"Ah," I said absently, playing with my hair. Alice stared at me like I'd grown a second head. "I suppose he'd try to eat me, wouldn't he?" I blushed at the accidental innuendo, and she grinned impishly.

"No, but I might."

"Alice! W-w-what the hell?" I spluttered, unsure which sense she even meant with that. Her eyes were a smoky sort of yellow, but I knew for a fact they'd been bright as gold downstairs.

"Oops… um, that was in really poor taste," she murmured. The little vampire huffed quietly, her shoulders slumping. "It's really hard not to run my mouth when you say stuff like that, okay?"

"You know, this isn't exactly reassuring me that you're not a serial killer," I said, but I was smiling. She let out a frustrated little whine, and my legs clenched at the noise.

"I've made such a mess of this…" she groaned, sitting up. "I don't know how much you know about us, but I swear, we only eat animals. We're a big coven… I'm sure you ran the math, and it would be a lot of people going missing every month. It's a lot of mouths to feed, but we manage, and it keeps the bears away from town. If you're curious, that's why our eyes aren't that sorta reddish color."

I watched her carefully, trying to detect any hint of malice on her beautiful face, but for all her fumbling, she was probably excellent at poker. Vegetarian vampires? What next, a Dementor who always wished it had a heart? Just what my life needed, lava-lamp of crazy that it was. I sighed, "I… okay. Okay, let's say I believe you, hypothetically. What do you want with me?"

"Only hypothetically?" Alice smiled sadly. "We needed to make sure you weren't going to report us. Edward says you're dangerous, so we had to be sure. A witch is bad enough, but you're something else, aren't you?" She was inching closer, her nose flaring, and I leaned back against the desk, unsure what to tell her.

"No, I'm not going to report you," I said quietly. "So long as you don't hurt anyone… well, the ministry doesn't need to know."

The little vampire sighed, still eyeing me warily. "Thank you. I didn't want to live on the run again. We weren't hurting anyone that I know of, though if a nomad comes sniffing around, we can't be seen together. It's a lot of trouble that nobody wants."

I hummed, running the scenario over in my head. "If a nomad comes around, will you help me deal with it? If wizarding America gets involved, you'll all have to move. No offence meant, but you're surprisingly normal. You know, for a vampire."

She laughed sweetly, sending shivers down my spine. "None taken. As for help… I'll do what I can, but I can't speak for anyone else in the family. And if any others found out about you, they'd probably kill you, just to be sure you couldn't bring aurors down on all our heads…"

"Underestimating me? I like that," I said mildly.

Alice mumbled something I didn't quite catch. I raised an eyebrow curiously, and the next thing I know, my back is against the floor and her face was inches from my own. My hands were smoking, my agitation eager to break free in searing flame, but I couldn't bring myself to hurt her. I really don't know why. Maybe because, despite what she'd just done, she seemed more playful than _hostile_. A firm leg pressed between my own, and I saw stars, my back arching at her touch.

"Now pretend I'm a nomad, and I like to eat people. What are you going to do?" She said, just a touch smugly. "We're stronger and faster than you could imagine, and I'm right on top of you. Where's your wand, Bella?"

"A-Alice… y-your leg," I murmured feverishly, unable to stop myself from pressing closer.

"Well, I suppose seducing you is another thing they might try. It would be easy. You're practically aching for someone to touch you," she whispered, her eyes dipping to my neck. Her fingers played with the bottom of my shirt teasingly.

"Easy for you," I replied, my voice husky. I don't know why I said it. She was gorgeous, but then Jeanie had been gorgeous. Fool me twice, shame on me. The little vampire licked her lips, seemingly off in her own little world. The motion was hypnotic, heat pooling in my stomach, utterly destroying my resolve. Those lips needed to be elsewhere.

"You know, I didn't believe Esme and Edward at first…" she dipped her head, nosing along my shoulder and up my neck. I whimpered, wishing blindly that it were her tongue instead, and I pressed myself eagerly against her leg. I swear, I've never wanted anything quite so much as I wanted her just then. Belatedly, I realised that she was looking down at me again, her eyes black as coal. "God, Bella… you smell so _good_."

Okay, this just got a little too dangerous. My desire crystallized in my chest at her feral look as I remembered Edward, and I leaned back against the floor. She was getting too invested in this little game, and I wanted none of it. One of my arms was pinned above my head, but the other was laying loosely by my side, like she hadn't really considered it a threat. Veela enhancements were crude, compared to a wand, but I could probably manage enough raw strength to break her hold. The question instead was whether or not I really wanted to be free. Her leg…

I pushed, fire flooding through my veins, and while her grip was inhumanly strong it wasn't unbreakable. Her eyes widened as I threw her off me, my hands bursting into flame as soon as she was free. She landed on my bed with catlike grace, shooting me a hooded, seductive glance. Laughing huskily, she straightened up.

"Pity you fought back. It could have been _fun_, you know," she said softly, but the fight was bleeding out of her. Running a delicate hand through her hair, she sighed, her eyes falling. "I'm sorry, Bella. I just wanted to show you the danger, and um… yeah," she trailed off, shaking her head. "I need to go hunt. It's not safe for me to be here any more."

I let her go. I had a lot to think about, and by the look of things, so did she.

* * *

><p>Author's Note: Well, things are off to a really weird start, I suppose. I've got several chapters of this backed up, but I'm really just unsure of the quality at times. I mean, I basically started writing this on a whim, because I thought the idea of Renee being a veela immigrant would be interesting. The only other Veela!Bella stories I've seen are nothing like this, so I hope I'm safe in that regard. That's partly why I'm taking liberties with veela capabilities, since it's not really clear what they can do in canon. Dance, mostly, from what I remember. Still, it's going to be a pretty fluffy fic, tbh. I like fluff, so whatever works I guess.<p>

As for veela bonding... I'm actually not fond of that plot device in most fics, though I think it can and has been used well, but I mostly wanted to use it because if it actually happened to people it would be really freaking inconvenient. It's like... you suddenly want to get dirty with some random person on the street, and if you don't think about it at all, you think you're in love? That's so messed up I can't even begin to express it, but at the same time, it makes a lot of sense for a subspecies which relies on mating with outsiders. Lust =/= love, but so long as the result leads to a (almost guaranteed to be veela) baby, then the veela subspecies is propagated down the generations. I don't know, it makes sense to me.

Next up: A smattering of Alice, a pinch of Mike, and Edward returns from his flounce.


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